Hello World!

Happy New Year everyone and welcome to #Android! Depending on our mood — and compatibility with the hashtag — you will see us refer to ourselves as either #Android or Hashtag Android. This is a brand new site built around one man’s affinity for Android and the community that makes it more than simply a mobile operating system.

Vincent Messina – Founder/Editor-In-Chief

I’d like to start by introducing myself and giving a little history on how Hashtag Android came to be.

My name is Vincent Messina and I’ve been interested in little green robots since the release of the original Motorola DROID on Verizon.

I share the all-too-familiar story of a BlackBerry user unsatisfied and looking for more. Braving the tides of change, I jumped from the sinking ship of RIM and gave our beloved Android a shot.

It didn’t take very long for me to see the clear differences and sheer superiority of Android over BlackBerry. However, it was what I wasn’t looking for that really caught my attention. I am, of course, talking about the Android community.

Don’t get me wrong, the BlackBerry community was also a great community — and I’m not ashamed to admit my former CrackBerry addiction. However, it was the thrill of being a part of something “new” and the fact that so many were sharing and helping in my newfound adventure that really forged the bond with Android that I have today.

Being a Motorola DROID user, I certainly wasn’t here from the beginning, but the great thing was — it didn’t matter. Unlike many other platforms or communities, no one called me a noob or ridiculed me for my rudimentary questions. No. Instead, I was welcomed with open arms and given advice, help and all the Jedi training necessary to become a full-blown Android addict.

The whole experience reminded me of my first Nintendo really. I was so very excited when I first received my Nintendo back in 1985 (yea, I’m getting old), and like many others around me, began exploring and sharing stories of secret levels, cartridge nuances, and of course: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left Right, B, A, Select, Start.

The Nintendo gave birth to what would become my life-long video game obsession and surprisingly, my first Android blogging position.

As the Android Market grew, I began enjoying and reviewing the plethora of games and apps being dropped daily. For a year, I wrote about every game, app, developer, and market update that came across my desk. I eventually moved on to covering all things Android and really haven’t look back since.

While my love for Android and its community grew, I slowly found myself being held back by the companies hiring me. I was brought on to start up a few projects for people I can only categorize as “Apple enthusiasts looking to monetize on Android’s success.” While I personally have nothing negative to say about these individuals (as they were all great, hardworking individuals that I would consider friends), it was the fact that they really didn’t share in the Android community that resulted in my eventual departures and ultimately led me to start #Android.

I now have the freedom to write, say, hire, create, and breakdance whenever I damn please, and I have no one to answer to other than myself and the Android community.

If you’ve followed me throughout my projects, you already know I enjoy giving back to the community. I frequently feature community members and their projects, I fully support the business ventures of a majority of Androidpreneurs, and I’m always giving away as much swag as I can get my hands on.

With #Android, I will continue to give my insight, share news and tips, spark debate, and most of all — have fun.

#Android is a new chapter in my life, and I hope you will join in my journey to create more than just another Android blog tainted with bad intentions.

This is me… This is you… This is #Android.

Disclaimer: I’m a writer not a web developer, so bear with me as I try not to destroy the site with some misplaced code.

Reviews

The Urban Armor Gear series of cases for the LG G4 aim to protect and serve your mobile device in a virtual blanket of, well, urban armor. Designed from a patented lightweight composite consisting of a hard outer shell and a soft impact resistant core, this dual layer defense not only meets military drop-test standards (MIL STD 810G 516.6), but looks good doing it. Now, before I go into more detail, let it be know that I have always been more of an au naturel device kind of guy, but after a bit of time with the Ash colored LG G4 Urban Armor Case, I can tell you that this case won’t be coming off any time soon.

The DROID brand deserves the majority of credit for the amount of early success that the Android operating system had in 2009 and 2010. From the original Motorola DROID to the original DROID Incredible, this was the brand of phones that people flocked to if they wanted a phone outside of the iPhone, not just because of a great marketing campaign, but because these were top of the line phones. Ask most of the readers on this site which phone got them started on Android, and you shouldn’t be surprised to hear them say, “The OG DROID.” It’s an iconic phone that helped launch Android to the top.

It’s no secret that I enjoying gaming. I may not get to do it as much as I used to, but I still enjoy it when I can. That’s why I’m always experimenting with ways to improve my gaming experience on Android. Read More

The Android Show

Android is a trademark of Google Inc. and the Android robot is reproduced or modified from work created and shared by Google and used according to terms described in the Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution License.